Former University of Maine quarterback Mickey Fein, who holds or shares 10 Maine records and four NCAA records, has joined the Black Bear coaching staff as the receivers coach.

Fein was the starting quarterback for the Norfolk Nighthawks of the Arena 2 Football League last season.

“I’m very excited about it. This is a great opportunity for me,” said Fein. “I’m impressed with the talent in the receiving corps.”

Associate head coach and offensive coordinator Bobby Wilder said, “I’m ecstatic about it. We wanted to hire him a year ago but he was still pursuing his aspirations to play in the NFL by playing in the Arena League.”

Wilder added that Fein has a quarterback’s presence about him along with the ability to remain composed under pressure.

“We’ll have him up in the press box during games with [assistants] Matt Griffin and Jeff Cole. He’ll be telling us what he sees,” said Wilder.

Fein, the Black Bears’ No. 2 career passer behind Mike Buck with 7,856 yards, said he had hoped to move up to Arena League 1 but when there weren’t any offers, he looked toward launching his coaching career.

Fein said he learned a lot from the stable of top-notch receivers he played with at Maine.

Fein, Wilder and the Bears will enter the season nationally ranked in some preseason polls.

They went 9-3 a year ago, shared the Atlantic 10 championship, and won an NCAA I-AA playoff game for the first time. They lost in the quarterfinals and were ranked 10th in the final poll.

They will enter this season ranked 16th in the consolidated I-AA preseason rankings thanks to an 11th-place ranking in one of the three polls tabulated and a 13th in another.

“I’m not going to downplay it and say rankings don’t matter,” said Wilder. “It’s very important to the University of Maine’s football program to gain some national recognition. That’s what we work for as players and coaches and it’s exciting for all of us to see that.”

He also said it is a valuable recruiting tool.

However, he warned that “people will look at Maine differently this year” and will put more time and effort into preparing for the Bears.